I purchased a tenanted SFR in South Summerlin (near Desert Inn and Hualapai) for cash back in summer 2018 - mostly an appreciation play with a 5-7 year horizon. 

If a flexible time horizon is required then yes, hard money is probably not a great fit.

So it all depends on your tolerance for dealing with tenants, on your time horizon and on the plan for the property.

That would put you into a house for about $1,00/month, find 2 roommates for $550/month and you end up living for free.You could go with a duplex if you could qualify for something more expensive.IF your time horizon is longer than a couple of years, I think buying in Dallas is fine, and you will do well especially having locked in near historically low rates.  

My time horizon is long given that I’m 28 years old.As you might guess, I have a pretty good job in a technical field which has allowed me to save money to start buying houses at a young age.

Apple is not going anywhere any time soon and if your time horizon is 10+ years I like the chances of values and rents going up.  

A 10 year or more horizon and a maximum number of shares or partners is pretty standard (say 10 or 12). 

Hello all, I am a young (21 y/o) investor from the Austin area looking to broaden my horizons.

What is the usual time horizon you consider when making buy-and-hold investments like this and how old of the house you would consider as an investment?

Depends on what matters more to you, what your time horizon is, etc.